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matthewthamm

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Posts posted by matthewthamm

    Ovation of the Seas Location Question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    The QuickShuttle sounds like a good idea.  However, I am coming from the other end of the state. Kelso.  So I am looking to take the Amtrak.  Have not seen any change in the border crossing yet.  Might end up bussing from Seattle Train (currently the last train station heading north) to Vancouver, which is not desired.  But we have a few months as we, too, are on the first one of the season.  

    Icy Strait Point Whale Watching

    in Alaska

    Posted

    I very highly recommend Tok River Outfitters (Found on Travel Advisors) in ISP.  Whale watching, they do that.  Halibut fishing, they do that, and so did we (our review is on TA).  This was our favorite stop of the cruise.  Very low key, no Diamonds International.

    The whole ISP area and town is a great place to see.  This is a native-run stop.

    Harmony 12/19/21- 12/26/21. Anniversary Celebration cruise.  Nice ship, but not for us again

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Thought I would post here also. Below is the summary of the review I filled out on the review section. 

    Review title: Anniversary Celebration cruise.  Nice ship, but not for us again

    Back to cruising!  This was out second cruise this year, the Covid year.  We were on the Carnival Elation in October.

    We chose this cruise because the were giving away cruises and it fell on out 40th anniversary.    We are Vaxed, and boosted, and the price was great. 

    We drive down to Port Canaveral when we leave from here.  Much less stressful to get to the port.  Parking structure was full.  Parked on the prepaid west side lot.  We were on the ground floor and just about as close to the terminal entrance as you could get.  Vax card was checked at the head of the line prior to being able to get into the terminal.  Make sure you have your vax card and ID IN HAND as you go to check in.  This makes that process quick. If not, this part of the process will be painful.  We were next-in-line witnesses to this.

    Cabin

    We were in room 9282.  Close to the elevators and one floor up from the Central Park (we ended up here a lot this week).  This is a very nice room.  We even could not fill the drawers, there is so much room.  The balcony was large, with two chairs and ottoman, along with a table.  Very nice room.

    Dining

    150 Central Park.  Fun fact: was told this was 150 meters from the bow and 150 meters from the stern.  We ate our first dinner on the ship here (as we were celebrating our anniversary).  Only 4 couples were in here the first night (Tip for eating at the specialty places?) Menu was fantastic, and the paired martini was out of this world

    Main Dining room.  The food here is really good.  And the wait staff was even better.  Portions are still a good size.  Left each time full.  However, after day 4 we were sending the bread basket back (we would fill up on the bread before the entrees came)

    Park Café.  Great for grab and go, or an afternoon cup of coffee (As we did most days).  Did have the requisite Roast Beef Sandwich.  Yes, it was good.

    Chef’s table. I was looking forward to the Chef’s table.  As we had been to a previous one.  The food was great, as it always has been.  The event was great, as we had people from the US, England, Denmark and Mexico in attendance.  My issue was the continued menu items from the previous time we attended.  The soup was great, again. If fact I asked for and received the recipe last time.  And the World dessert, was good, but served again.  Was hoping for a change in menu.  Would I do this again?  Not without a change in the menu.  I very much enjoy the experience.  However, would like to see a change of menu.

    Solarium Bistro.  This was supposed to be our first lunch.  But missed it.  Good food.  No kids.  A smaller selection then the Windjammer.

    Wind Jammer.  Food was good to great the whole week.  Breakfast, lunch was done here.  Breakfast even had fresh-made avocado toast, which I then took to the fried egg station to top is off (3 breakfasts).  Bacon was extremely plentiful.  Covid protocols here were non impacting.

    Embarkation

    We had a 12:00 check in time for the ship.  Were in the terminal at about that time.  Checked in and went right on the ship. 20 minutes from head of the line to on the ship.   First time on the Harmony and the Oasis class ships.  Wow, this was big. Rooms were not yet available, was told about 2:00 to 3:00. No biggie, we wanted to see the ship. We were hungry so we were aimed to the Solarium Bistro.  Got off on the 14th and head aft instead of forward, and ended up at Mini bites.  This did the job, and was not really anyone around.  Done with that, we went forward to find out where we should have been.  Pools looked nice as we passed by.  About this time, we heard the rooms were released to us.  Off to drop the hand-carry items.  We were told there was 5,300 on board for this sailing.

    Disembarkation. I was very disappointed with the departure on 12/26/21.  The idea was good.  However, the execution was not good.  What was lacking was communications.  To the housekeeping staff AND the passengers.  We had an 8:40 departure time (36) we got off the ship at 10:00 am.  I heard there was a medical emergency.  I can understand the delay.  This could have been communicated over the ship-wide PA that the slow down was due to this.  We did stay in our room until the time on Channel 27 changed to include our departure number.  This was all the remaining numbers from the ship.  This was at 9:50 or so.  I can understand the delays, but let us know.

    Entertainment

    Absolutely hate the reservations.  Was able to walk up and get into to the Hideaway aqua show on day 4.  Just show up 10 to 15 minutes early.  Enjoyed the four guys (forgot the name) headliner show.  Grease was a fairly good show.

    Family

    This is what the boat was made for.  Perfect Day at Coco Cay.  We were last here 10 years ago on the Freedom.  Tendered in, and food brought from the boat.  We had a fantastic time.  Had been looking forward to visiting again ever since.  We were on the island with the Independence also (5,300 plus who knows how many from Indy, all the beach chairs were taken by the time we got there).  We NEEDED to make use of the tram to get off the pier.  However, we waited 30 minutes to be picked up.  Could use more of the ship-to-shore trams for those with ambulatory issues. With all the additional people and up charges for quite a lot of the features, most likely will not choose an itinerary again with this as a stop.  Food on the island was good, staff and vendors were great.  But an amusement park in the Bahamas is not what we go on a cruise for.

    Fitness & Recreation

    Zip-Line; did this.  The Ultimate Abyss; did this. 

    Public Rooms

    Rising Tide Bar.  Nice and relaxing.  But it did have its ups and downs.

    Solarium.  Great place.  Especially early in the morning. Hot when not moving, breezy, when under way.  Would like to see this changed to 18 plus.  16 year-olds are not adults.

    King of the world.  Neat find

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 2

    jet-skis at Coco Cay?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Had a great Jet Ski tour at Coco Cay.  Don't know if this is still the case, but first off, we went snorkeling in the lagoon.  Found a few tethered fish at the bottom of the lagoon.  Took those to the equipment shop, and was given a free Jet Ski excursion ticket, and a Para sailing ticket 😀

    Gave away the Parasailing ticket, but when on the Jet Ski tour. 

    Great clear water (star fish everywhere), and yes, it was follow the leader.  It was well worth the money I spent (had to purchase a ticket at a reduced rate for my bride as the passenger)

    Vancouver Port to Pacific Central Station

    in West Coast Departures

    Posted

    We will be arriving into Vancouver at 7:00 am (or so they say today).  We are looking to either take a 9:00 AM train or an 11:30 train to Portland OR.

    Would like to hear from you that have done this before.  Assuming the first group can get off the ship at 7:00 AM, can we make it off the ship, through customs, and to the train station in time to make the 9:00 AM time?  Or do we count on the 11:30 train?

    TIA.

    Favorite drink at the Alchemy bar?!

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted · Edited by matthewthamm
    Correct a spelling error.

    I asked Katrina for something with bourbon. Wow! I keep coming back to that. But she wouldn't give up the recipe. Guess I need to cruise the Sunshine again. My wife found the chocolate and tiramisu martini was her go to. Put a dent in the Cheers program at the Alchemy.

     

    Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app

    CCL Cabin Info Compilation - No Cabin Questions posted here please!

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Ship - Sunshine

    Deck - 7

    Stateroom # - 7270

    Stateroom Category – 8C

    Starboard or Port Side - Port

     

    Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – For the most part

     

    Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

     

    Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Great view. We docked on this side at each port. A favorite morning activity with our delivered coffee.

     

    Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal. Two chairs and a small table

     

    Was wind a problem? - No

     

    If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - It is in the back part of the ship, but no issues noted.

     

    Any specific problems with this cabin? - None.

     

    Any other comments? - I thought it was a great location. Close to the elevator lobby and stairs, but did not hear the traffic from there. Two decks down to the Alchemy Bar. Two decks up to the dining on deck 9.

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